Located in the once iconic General Tire manufacturing facility, BRIC is a partnership between Baylor University, Texas State Technical College and other regional industries and businesses. It is a vanguard facility, embracing the latest in sustainable, contemporary design and planning. In its initial phases, BRIC will add approximately 340,000 gross square feet of development with the potential to add nearly 550,000 to 700,000 total gross square feet of development on the BRIC property for future research, business and industry initiatives.

This master plan for BRIC envisions a center for research and development dedicated to enhancing the economic and knowledge bases of the community and region. The BRIC assembles under one roof a unique combination of university research and industry collaboration, workforce development and training, K-12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives, and business incubation services through the Baylor Advanced Research Institute (BARI) and LAUNCH, the innovative business accelerator, located in the BRIC and part of the suite of services offered by the Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business.

This interdisciplinary facility is designed with the intent of sharing equipment, services and amenities. The naturally day-lit atria and gallery spaces serve to connect the various occupants while, at the same time, fostering collaboration. Shared services and amenities such as stairs, meeting rooms, symposia, and break-out spaces are strategically located within these open spaces to encourage interaction and to support research.

Engineering research at BRIC focuses on electrical engineering research such as neural network architectures and photonics and materials research in the Advanced Composite Technology lab. BRIC also houses the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER).